


The Long Road

by idraax



Series: The Long Road [2]
Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Ensemble - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:37:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/pseuds/idraax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce decides to try therapy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is mainly a what if about what the effects of therapy would look like on Bruce. I'm drawing on my own experiences with therapy to write this, so it's definitely not representative of everyone who goes to therapy. I've chosen to not describe the actual therapy sessions.

He thinks it started when he came back to see Tony, but no, that wasn't quite right. He thinks it was the shawarma, but that wasn't right either nor was letting the Hulk out to fight Loki. It started before that, before Loki and before Kolkata.

On the days when he can see himself the most clearly, he thinks it started with the Accident. And, sometimes, on the very rare days, he thinks it started before the Accident, with the murder of his mother and the abuse and the separation of himself and his emotions, but he wasn't quite there yet. (And maybe would never be.)

However, it started, he was here now, in front of the plain with door with his fist raised to knock. He took deep breaths, brain falling into the familiar patterns of breathing and numbers, everything that calmed him down. He knocked.

 

When he got back to the tower and his floor, he felt drained. His hands trembled a little and he clenched them tightly, taking a shaky breath.

"Welcome back, Dr. Banner" Jarvis said, voice modulated to be as quite as possible while still being heard.

"Thanks Jarvis" he mumbled, swallowing. His throat was tense and it felt worn-out. He kicked off his shoes and slid out of his jacket and staggered to his bedroom. He collapsed on the bed with a whump, pulling the blanket over his head and burying his face in the pillow.

"Are you alright Dr. Banner" Jarvis inquired. He thought he heard worry in the AI's voice, but maybe he was projecting. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

He frowned, took a breath and assessed himself. There was the beginnings of something creeping out from the locked doors in his head. There were cracks in the door, fresh ones. Part of him was happy to see them.

"I'm ok." He answered Jarvis. "I had my first session today...things got a little stirred up, but that's the point of all this right?"

There was a pause and then a hesitant "I believe so." He had a feeling that Jarvis was parsing all the literature he could on therapy and the human mind. 

He nodded into the pillow. "Ok, then. I think I'll take a nap now."


	2. Chapter 2

It was night when he woke up. His mouth was partially dry and the pillow was damp beneath him. His eyes were gummy and he had to blink several times. He groaned and sat up, the blanket sliding the rest of the way off and lumping on the floor.

"What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock, Dr. Banner. There is pasta in the kitchen downstairs. The others are watching a film. "

"Thanks" He rose from the bed, leaving the blanket where it was. He straightened his shirt, pulled up his pants and walked out of the room.

The kitchen was dark, except for the flickering light from the next room. There was a plate of pasta sitting on a hot plate on the counter top. It was covered in saran wrap. He blinked at it and then blinked again when the lights were turned up. Steve stood in the doorway.

"Hey," he said, "are you alright?"

"Fine" Bruce said, picking up the plate and unwrapping it. He grabbed a fork from one of the drawers and took a bite.

"You didn't cook this, did you?" He swallowed, grabbed a glass and turned on the tap. "There's chili in this."

Steve's smile got a bit wider. "It was Clint's night. I liked it."

Bruce took a sip of water and swallowed. "It is good" he agreed, taking another bite. "What movie are you guys watching?"

Steve winced."Please don't talk with your mouth full, I don't want you to choke."

Bruce nodded and swallowed. "Ok"

He followed Steve into the other room. The others were spread out across several couches watching what appeard to be Casablanca. He gave Steve a questioning look as he took the open spot near Thor, balancing the plate on his knees.

"They're catching me up on the classics. Clint picked."

He nodded, settling in and taking another bite.


	3. Chapter 3

**One Week Later**

He still hadn't told them. Only Jarvis knew where he went every Wednesday afternoon. Things were going...(He doesn't know quite how to describe it, but they were going.) He thought they were making some progress.

The tower was quiet when he got back.

"Welcome back Dr. Banner" Jarvis whispered when he walked in.

He frowned and whispered back. "What's going on?"

"Everyone is...asleep. It is a natural sleep" Jarvis added and he nodded.

"They did have a late night last night." He said. He and Hulk weren't needed for that mission and as a consequence he didn't know all the details. One of the others would tell him when they got up.

He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the common area. The doors closed smoothly, making none of their usual noise.

"Jarvis" he said, somewhat hesitant.

"Yes?"

"Do you think I should make dinner?" He felt like cooking, but the thought of being around people today sent a faint something curling around his diaphragm. There was a pause and he thought he could sense surprise in Jarvis' silence.

"That would be appreciated," Jarvis said eventually, "Shall I soundproof the kitchen?"

He nodded. "That would be good. I don't want to wake any of them up."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. He headed into the kitchen and a semi-opaque panel slid out and covered the entrance. The walls light up momentarily and then the light faded, except for a small glowing panel near the entrance. He blinked at it.

"If that panel flashes, it means someone is requesting entrance" Jarvis informed him.

"Thanks" he said and turned to scrutinize the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my headcanons is that Jarvis is able to change the soundproofing for each and every room of the tower. I'm not quite sure why.


	4. Chapter 4

He wound up making stir fry. After it was done, he shut off the stove and took a moment to gather himself. He closed his eyes and inhaled. He felt a little jittery today. Something in his brain skittered away from his probing. He let out the breath and sank into himself a bit more.

Hulk was quiet today. The ever-pressent feeling still there, but dimmer, a bit muffled. He inhaled again. Yes, he still wanted to spend some time with the team, not too much though. So, perhaps, dinner and then bed. He exhaled and opened his eyes.

"Jarvis?" He said quietly.

"The others are awake," Jarvis replied. "They should be here momentarily."

He nodded and took down the plates from the designated cupboard. The walls hummed faintly and the semi-opaque pannel slid away. Soon after, Thor walked in.

"My friend" he boomed and he winced.

Thor's voice was jarring after the quiet. It felt like it disloged something inside his head and a faint ache started in the right side of his skull. Thor was still talking and he listened to the ebb and flow of the words. It was grounding in a way.

"...you made dinner!"

He nodded, catching the last bit of whatever Thor had said.

"There's enough for everyone."

He handed Thor a plate and took his own food. They headed into the dining area and sat down. Thor took a bit and closed his eyes in pleasure.

"This is very good! How was your day?"

"Fine" he said taking a bite of his own food.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't told them yet as results from the first week were positive. He had to tell them eventually, he knew that.

"How was the mission?" He said, to distract Thor from asking any more.

Thor broke out into a long and detailed description, words only broken when one of the others came down and joined them.


	5. Chapter 5

**A few days later**

He had decided to finally get out of the tower. Hulk stirred a little as he was walking out the entrance and he closed his eyes to check on him.

There was a faint curiosity. Hesitantly, he gave it a nudge. The feeling of curiousity returned stronger mixed with the feeling of confusion.

_I need some air,_ he thought to it, _I'm sure you wouldn't mind some too, even if it's just second hand._ He thought he got a sense of agreement and then they were out the doors and into bright sunlight.

He wound up walking aimlessly through the city. Hulk had gone back to warily watching. He was working on communicating with him, but they hadn't gotten very far.

He adjusted the bag on his left shoulder. He had gotten his laptop along just in case. Something twisted underneath his heart.

_Time for a break._

There was a library at the corner and he walked into it. All the tables were taken, but there was an empty spot across from a slumped, brown haired kid. He walked up to him and cleared his throat.

"Er...can I sit here?" The kid looked aroud and then back at him. "

Sure," he said and went back to mumbling verbs under his breath. Bruce frowned. They sounded like Spanish verbs.

Ignoring it, he got out his laptop and turned it on.

When he looked up again, the kid was staring at it. The kid asked him what happened to it and something inside curled uneasily at the base of his spine.

"Travel," he said vaugely.

"Okaay then" the kid sounded skeptical, but then he went back to his book. He seemed stressed and Bruce could understand how that felt. He found himself starting up a conversation and soon they were exchanging stories as he helped Peter (they had exchanged names first) study for his upcoming Spanish exam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And apparently this takes place in the same universe as [ Life in New York. ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1105238')


	6. Chapter 6

**A few days later**

 

Bruce stared at the paper in front of him. There was a pen next to him, uncapped. He was in the lab with the bots, who were mostly leaving him alone except for the occasional pass by the table and an inquiring whirr, and J.A.RV.I.S., who hadn’t spoken since Bruce had stepped foot in the lab.

“What do I say?” Bruce said to Dummy on the bot’s third pass by the table. Dummy gave him a confused whirr and tilted his claw.

“Yeah” Bruce sighed, “I don’t know either.” He frowned and then tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure where J.A.R.V.I.S.’s cameras were, but the speakers were on the ceiling.

“Help?”

“I suggest starting with hello” J.A.R.V.I.S said blandly.

Bruce glared at the ceiling and pointedly looked at the paper in front of him.

It read:

 

_Hello Hulk_

“Some help you are” he said to J.A.R.V.I.S and picked up the pen. He tapped it between his teeth before putting it to the paper and writing

A few minutes later, the paper had only a few lines on it.  He took a breath, stepped back and slipped off his shirt.

“Right” he said to J.A.R.V.I.S and the bots, “I’m letting him out.”

 

**Hulk**

 

He found himself in one of the science labs and he looked around confused. There didn’t seem to be any danger. The bots watched him curiously, tilting their claws and whirring whenever he looked their way.

“Why Hulk here” he asked, frowning.

J.A.R.V.I.S made a note in one of Bruce’s files that they should teach Hulk to speak in the first person.

“There is a note on the table for you Mr. Hulk” J.A.R.V.I.S said to him. “It may have some instructions.”

Hulk carefully picked it up and read it.

It read:

 

_Hello Hulk,_

_You have the day to yourself, but if you decide to go out of the tower could you pick up some eggs. We’re all out._

_Thanks and have fun,_

_Bruce_

 

Hulk blinked at it before putting it back on the table. He gave the bots a confused look. They looked back at him and whirred apologetically.

“Other Guy is weird” Hulk said to J.A.R.V.I.S.

“I do not know his thought processes.” J.A.R.V.I.S replied.

Hulk nodded. “Hulk need money.”

A table on the far side of the lab light up. Hulk walked over it to, tiptoeing around the bots who trailed after him like a bunch of ducklings.

On the table was a necklace with a large rectangular pendant.

“This was specially designed for you Mr. Hulk,” J.A.R.V.I.S said. “It has everything you might possibly need.”

Hulk poked it.

“Even pants?” He said picking it up and slipping it over his head.

“Unfortunately no, it does not have those,”” J.A.R.V.I.S said, traces of laughter in his tone.

Hulk sighed and looked down at his pants. They were torn around the knees and the waist was a bit tight, but overall it didn’t seem like it was going to fall off any minute.

“Hulk get eggs now,” he said to J.A.R.V.I.S before exiting the lab. J.A.R.V.I.S added another line to his previous note.

_Preferably soon._

 


End file.
